Metropolitan Police Act 1829

The Metropolitan Police Act 1829 (10 Geo. 4. c. 44) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced by Sir Robert Peel, which established the Metropolitan Police. This was to be responsible for policing the newly created Metropolitan Police District, which consisted of the City of Westminster and parts of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, within seven miles of Charing Cross, apart from the City of London. It replaced a previously more diverse system of parish constables and watchmen. It is one of the Metropolitan Police Acts 1829 to 1895.

The Act
The Act was the enabling legislation for what is often considered to be the first modern police force, the "bobbies" or "peelers" (after Peel), which later served as the model for modern urban policing throughout Britain. Until the passage of the Act, the Statute of Winchester of 1285 was cited as the primary legislation regulating the policing of the country since the Norman Conquest.